[2] In the fall of 2007, the Japanese government acknowledged Tierney's life's work by conferring the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, which represents the third highest of eight classes associated with this award.
Accompanying the badge of the Order was a certificate explaining the award as recognition of the extent to which Tierney has "contributed to introducing Japanese fine arts.
[2] General Douglas MacArthur's staff during the occupation of Japan included a Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (MFAA) section.
[2] In the years which followed the war, Tierney found himself disagreeing with the conventional assessment that MacArthur should be construed as an expert in Japanese culture.
Many years later, Tierney made an effort to explain his understanding of the significance of what he had personally witnessed: "Apology is a very important thing in Japan.
The University of Utah's Marriott Library today holds close to 75,000 photographs taken by Tierney—all related to the art and architecture of the Far East, Southeast Asia, and especially Japan.